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Cockroaches

We place cockroaches into two categories, the indoor variety and the outdoor variety, if you have encountered either of these cockroaches this page will be a good source of information for you.

Indoor cockroaches

Indoor cockroaches are cockroaches that will live, breed and spread disease in your home or workplace, these are the ones you definitely want to get rid of.

In the early stage of infestation you will find these cockroaches in the kitchen and possibly bathroom, where food and water is readily available. In kitchens the first places you are likely to see them is around appliances where it’s nice and dark and warm. Popular spots are behind the fridge, inside, around and under the dishwasher, under microwaves, toasters and coffee machines, inside and around ovens. If you enter your kitchen at night and turn the light on you are likely to see them crawling along bench-tops.

As the infestation increases you will start to notice the cockroaches spreading in other areas too and the longer they are in your home or workplace the more difficult they are to treat.

German cockroaches are constantly breeding the female carries 30-40 eggs in a case and can produce around one egg case per month. The nymph’s (juveniles) reach maturity in about 60 days so you can imagine they can get out of control quite quickly.

If you’ve got an indoor variety of cockroach in your home or business you need them gone! Here’s why it’s important:

They contaminate food and surfaces.

They are carriers of pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli, hepatitis E, diarrhoea, dysentery and staphylococcus.

They have been linked to outbreaks of gastroenteritis, typhus and skin diseases.

Contact with cockroaches can lead to a number of allergic illnesses, including dermatitis, rhinitis, bronchitis and asthma.

The German cockroach is the most common indoor variety we deal with in homes and businesses, we occasionally come across American and Oriental ones mostly in food establishments.

German cockroach

American Cockroach

Oriental Cockroach

Tips to help keep indoor cockroaches at bay

Keep your home or workplace free of food and liquid spillages including under appliances

Don’t leave dirty dishes on your bench overnight

Store pantry goods in sealed containers

Make sure rubbish bins have tightly sealed lids

Don’t leave pet food out overnight

Make sure there are no liquids left in sinks, baths or buckets overnight

Keep your home or workplace clutter free, especially around your kitchen and in cupboards

Got German Cockroaches in your home or work place?

Don’t fear we have treatments to get rid of indoor cockroach varieties effectively. For Auckland Cockroach Control please give us a call on 0508 467378 or email us at info@gopest.co.nz

Outdoor Cockroaches

The main outdoor cockroach we encounter is the Gisborne Cockroach this cockroach is an Australian native that was first spotted on our shores in Gisborne, hence the name. It’s a large cockroach, about 20-45mm long and 12-15mm wide and is a dark brown with white stripes along the edges of its body from its head to about half way down.

Gisborne cockroaches are generally found in the garden, they eat organic material such as wood and bark. Depending on your surroundings you may find you have visits from these guys in random places inside your home, usually on walls and ceilings. The adults are big and a lot of people find them quite frightening but rest assured these guys are not like the indoor varieties they won’t establish themselves in your home and aren’t linked with causing health issues.

Gisborne Cockroach

Tips to keep outdoor cockroaches at bay

Trim back any vegetation that touches your house

Avoid planting gardens close to your house

Avoid the use of bark in your gardens

Keep dead plant materials and wood as far away from your house as possible

If you do get these cockroaches inside your home and aren’t bothered by them, you can leave them to make their way back outside or you can catch them and pop them back out in the garden as you see them. If you can’t stomach that we have a very effective treatment for getting rid of them and creating a barrier around your home, so for Auckland Cockroach Control please give us a call on 0508 467378 or email us at info@gopest.co.nz for more information.

If you have a cockroach that doesn’t look like any of the images we have provided, if you could take a picture of it and email it to us at info@gopest.co.nz if the picture is clear enough a technician will be able to identify it for you.